Chapter 10 2

I've only now discovered that the entire sphere is made of ants.They are arranged in a hive pattern, the hexagonal head forming the outer layer of the sphere, while the smooth black tail forms the inner layer, and the intertwining feet hold them tightly together. "Ants!" I stepped back, coughing at the smell of them, "Are you prisoners?" "Look?" Kelly giggled cheerfully, "They're ours," she smiled down at the ants in her hands, "I think they're kind of like ants, but Nick calls them replicators. " She said and handed me the howling thing.

"It's not going to bite you, Uncle Kim!" she laughed when she saw how terrified I was. "Actually, it won't hurt anyone." I was relieved to see Nick wave him away. "Kelly found the design record in the tetrahedron," Nick said in a brisk affirmative tone. "After the cosmic organization split, we built the first installation in the workshop on the high plateau. They were carried out in the underground center. Self-replicating, like insects. But really they're just tools, and we use them to build tachyon terminals." I've gradually forgotten the nightmares I've had since Kater's Nordic romance, and I'm only now grasping the meaning of his words.

"Is it already... already built?" Staring at the shiny balls of ants, I couldn't help feeling a little trembling. "I know a guy," said Smallest, "an astronaut pilot who crash-landed on the edge of the sky gate, and he came out of the desert almost dead. In the hospital he went crazy, and he talked about seeing metal ants building a terminal Tower, he was scared away by them, but I still can't believe it." "It's built," Kelly told me, "and it's ten miles high." I couldn't help but gasp. "Unfortunately, your friend has lost his mind," she added. "Nick's parents and my mother have taken in a group of refugees and they always wanted you to go back."

"Starship," I asked suspiciously, "is the starship coming?" Kelly shook her head in disappointment. "The terminal station is complete, but it can't be activated yet," Nick frowned. "We haven't been able to send out a signal yet. It seems we need a tetrahedron to adjust the tachyon signal. We haven't been able to find a substitute, and I It was thought that the whole project would end in failure, but Kelly probed where the tetrahedron was." He nodded towards the bank building, as if he already knew that Guy and his women had placed the tetrahedron there.

"You ain't gonna get moon grit," I gasped, "Gai won't let you get it!" "That's too bad, Uncle Kim." Kelly's lips quivered. "I know poor Guy is going to get hurt. I wanted Nick to think of something else, but he said there was no other way. We're here to get the tetrahedron." of." She stopped talking, opened her mouth, and looked out into the street.Her golden skin grew pale as alabaster. She saw Guy. I vaguely heard hurried footsteps and rough panting behind us.I turned around and saw Guy.He swayed quietly from the middle of the street alone, walking towards us with his head held high.He was naked and looked so strong, like a bull.

Although only slightly taller than Nick and Kelly, he must have weighed several hundred pounds.There was thick black hair on his back and shoulders, and his big belly was white.His yellow eyes narrowed warily, and his pointy black ears turned toward the formic ball. The metal ants screamed louder. The black channel returned to its original state, the ball rose a little, floated forward slightly, and finally stopped beside us.It's now in Gai's way. He growled, and though it was low, it made me shiver, though in the sun it was like the roar of a hungry lion.Guy kept going, unstoppable like an avalanche.

Kelly rushed towards him suddenly. All of a sudden his wildness disappeared.He stopped, panting tremblingly, his panting lips retracted, and I saw that his teeth had grown into shape.He stood there grinning at Kelly, showing his long white teeth and drooling. "Kelly!" Nick yelled beside me, "Come back!" But she kept running. "My dear Guy!" she laughed happily, "how strong you have grown!" He opened his arms to hold her in his arms, she raised her hand to stroke his shoulder, and kissed his hairy cheek, he trembled, whimpered and hugged her tightly.

"Guy, don't! You hurt me." He let go of her with a groan, and snarled at Nick.When he saw me, his yellow eyes sparkled, his ears were bent towards me, and he ran towards me with a big smile on his face, holding out his hairy palm, which had grown into a huge black Claws, but it's safe for now. "They told me you were here," His thick voice is as terrifying as his growl, "I'm so happy, Uncle Kim, you've always been good to me. You're welcome here." He growled menacingly and turned to Nick. "Handshake!" Kelly gasped. "Please, Nick."

Nick held out his hand coldly, but Guy was indifferent to it.He rocked slowly back and forth, his squinting eyes flickering back and forth between Nick and the buzzing ball of ants. "Why are you here?" He lowered his voice and asked dully, "What do you want?" "I hope you'll forgive us, Guy," Nick said. "Please!" Kelly said, stopping him, "let me talk to Guy." Guy bristled his gray stiff neck hair at Nick, turned his ears to the screeching humming orb, and then slowly back to Kelly.His broad face twitched under the thick fur, and brown tears welled up in his eyes.He adjusted his big feet like a boxer.Dropped ears turned to Kelly.

"Guy, dear Guy," she whispered. She suppressed her tears, and continued: "Do you know why we are here? The sand grains brought to the moon by the information missiles have stayed on the moon for billions of years, waiting for the arrival of intelligent life. It altered our father's genes so that we were born.We're here for a purpose, you understand, Guy? " His only response was to sideways slightly, as if avoiding a punch. "Do you know why we were born?" Her voice became desperate. "We're going to build an intergalactic terminal so the starships can come. That's what we're going to do."

His ear turned to the swarm of metal ants. "Starships will bring peace between the biological universes," she assured him, "intergalactic cultures will help us figure out our neighbors and ourselves, and it will stop interstellar wars, Guy. It will end us." All the trouble - including space snakes, fog and aliens." "But Kelly, they didn't mess with us?" Guy complained, his voice blasting like a bomb. "We're fine here, so we don't need a starship. I want Uncle Kim here, and you, Kelly," He let out a low hoarse sound, half sob, half growl, "I want you to die, Kelly," he shuddered, blinking, and turned to Nick like a boxer defending, "Nick Better take his things with you." "Please, Guy." Kelly paled and grabbed his arm tremblingly. "It's not as safe here as you think, at least not for long. We had to send replicators—the metal ants—to stop a tank attacking you while you slept," Guy wanted to turn around. Go, but she still grabbed his arm, "Guy, Guy! You'll see soon enough." Guy stood still, trembling, his wagging ears turned toward her. "The interstellar sent these gravels," her voice trembled in a high voice, too fast for Guy.Guy stood there swaying, bewildered. "They know that short-lived civilizations kill each other before they learn to understand each other. The grains of sand are sent to save all of our planets, but we've made too many mistakes. If we don't open up our Terminal, Guy, soon we'll all be dead." "Go away!" his throat rattled. "Leave me alone." "We can't do that, Guy," Kelly licked her pale lips. "We need your help. You know, the replicators fixed the terminal, but we can't light the pilot lights without...no..." She hesitated, convulsing in pain. "We need the tetrahedron, Cap," Nick's voice was strong and steady, "Kelly made me try all the other things, but I couldn't light the lights," he said faster and faster, as he would when he was nervous, "I hope you're sensible, cover. Maybe we won't need it for long, and we'll return it to you when the ship arrives with new equipment. " "You've always had it all," Guy interrupted loudly, like a sudden tornado, "you've got brains, you've got charm, you've got parents. You've got each other. You can talk and you can stay awake and do things. " "Guy! Guy!" Kelly said suddenly, "You know I've always loved you." He ruthlessly pushed her aside with his hands. "Nick, you always had it all," he said, jumping up to Nick like a douchebag, like a tiger, "you took the gem, and you took Kelly while I was working on it." "No!" Kylie sobbed, and Gai Rumble's voice cut her off. "I think the gem is mine, I made it, my dad got it for me, I need it, I mean I'm going to keep it. I won't give it up, not for you, Uncle Kim," he said. Looking at me with a paralyzing gaze, "Not for Kelly, I won't give it up for anyone." Except for Gai's heavy breathing and the wailing of metal ants, the street was silent.The heat rolled between us, and I could smell a fishy smell on Guy. "It's going to hurt you, Guy," Nick said coldly, "and it's going to hurt Kelly. I don't want to, but you don't give us a choice. I'm here for the tetrahedron. We're going to get it." Guy bent over him like a big cat. Nick continued: "Kelly has located it, it's in the bank's basement, and the replicators will dig it out in a short time. We don't want to hurt you, Guy, and I hope you don't get in our way." Guy attacked. "Stop! Guy!" Kelly screamed, "if you still love me." Nick jumped back.Without a sound, the sphere split into countless metal ants.They buzzed like bumblebees and surrounded Gad.The sulphurous smoke they emitted made me unable to keep my eyes open. Guy roared and rushed over, the ants swooped down on him, and the sun was suddenly blocked.Metal ants suck energy from Gai.I backed away, feeling cold in my bones, and I stood numb and shivering, with a bitter taste in my mouth and nausea. Guy yelled in anger and pain, the ants couldn't stop him, I don't know why, maybe it was because of the protection of the tetrahedron, maybe Kelly's fear slowed down the attack of the metal ants.The simpler reason, I guess, is that Nick couldn't bear to kill Guy, although Guy didn't feel much remorse. Guy waved his big hand violently to drive away the ants on his head.As Kelly rushed at him, he pushed her away.He spread his claws, grabbed Nick by the throat and shook him hard. I heard a snap in Nick's neck.Guy flicked the metal ants away with Nick's loose body, then dropped him at Kelly's feet. Nick twitched and lay still on the ground as Kelly screamed and fell beside him. Strange things happened—the metal ants died, their whining died away, and their corpses scattered on the ground like a smashed old-fashioned clock. Suddenly the sun was bright again, and under its heat the courthouse square was silent and lonely.Kelly knelt beside Nick, whose flat body looked like a child's, his complexion slowly fading to a frightening white.Guy stood high up, rocking back and forth like a drunk boxer, and all I could hear were Guy's heavy breathing and Kelly's pathetic whimpers, and I felt a pain in my throat. Sweat ran down Guy's bulging, barrel-like body in thick streaks on his belly hair, and his musky, musky scent clogged my nostrils. His rough panting was now tinged with a hoarse noise, a slow meaningless grunt.At last he shook himself and slowly bent over Kelly, drawing his paw back and caressing her trembling shoulder awkwardly. "Why, Kelly? Why?" His grunt turned into a pained question. "You know I'm not going to give up the moon grit, why do you have to?" "Murderer!" She froze under his clumsy palm, and her scream cut him off, "You stupid monster! You killed Nick! Destroyed the terminal, destroyed the world !" Guy's ears drooped.He was shaking his big head like a boxer who has been hit, dull and bewildered.He turned and tripped over an ant, which he picked up awkwardly in his hands and stared blankly at it.Suddenly, with a choking howl, he flung the dead ant against the granite wall of the bank, and ran, staggering, down the street. Andy and Billy Levelland hid in the hotel, and they came out after Guy left.We carried Nick in and got the doctor, who was pretty sure he was dead, with a broken neck and a stopped heart.The skull caved in. The doctor was attracted by Nick's peculiar body structure and wanted to conduct an autopsy on him, but Kelly firmly opposed it.She stays with Nick, and I think she must expect him to come back to life. Remembering that when the two of them were young, ordinary drugs did not work for them. I also had some hope for Nick's resurrection, but the hope was soon shattered. Even Kelly gave up when his body began to swell and rot.Eowine ordered a wooden coffin, and we drove it to Fairfax's cemetery, with Guy and dozens of his women following silently behind. We didn't have a formal ceremony because the form we knew seemed out of place.My prayers are for Nick and for the energy and survival of the Moon Children.I saw several women knelt down, and Guy and Kelly stood hunched over the grave until the coffin was buried, then walked away holding hands. "If you want to express your sincere apologies," I heard Kelly say to Guy as they approached me, "you should take the tetrahedron and come back to the terminal with me. What can be done, but at least we can try to turn on the lights." Guy stopped, and she turned anxiously to look at him. "You're so silly, Kelly," he said softly. "I don't want to hurt you, but I can't leave Fairfax. Do you know how happy I am here, Kelly? Pleasant. Because people here need me, because they love me like I love myself. Even after I killed Nick, they love me as much as ever." "But Guy..." "Anyway, we can't go back to Heaven's Gate," he said, raising his voice over her objections. "It's too far away. The fog is creeping up to the river. The space snakes are entrenched on the mountain, and like my father The same people are killing other humans. Sorry, Kelly." He stopped talking and strode away, his women following silently.Kelly stood as still as a marble statue, looking back forlornly at the grave, until Eowine and I urged her into the car. We went back to the hotel.Before we leave, Kelly picks up a dead metal ant and examines it blankly, absently, as if it were the fossilized skeleton of some long-extinct trilobite. "Can you get the ants to move again?" A glimmer of hope flashed through my mind. "They can take us back to the Sky Gate, maybe with the Tetrahedron, if Guy will allow it." "There's nothing I can do, Uncle Kim," She said blankly, throwing away the lifeless copying machine, "because they belonged to Nick. His brain controlled them through a resonant interface on a tetrahedral spectrum. They were, in a way, part of his body. They died with him." We helped her to the hotel.She would not eat or talk.When we got her room ready, she shut herself in and I didn't see her for days.In fact, it strikes me as odd that her grief doesn't impress me all that much. Despite her influence, the tetrahedron must still be functioning.While its effect on the interface is a mystery to me, I can still feel it radiating life, radiating love and joy, bathing us in a vibrant optimist unknown. Indulging in this joy and tranquility, Yin Owen happily declared that he no longer needed tobacco leaves, and he found a plot in the city park for his roses.I spent two or three afternoons there with him, watching him till the soil, and sharing with him the joy of flowering. Although still guarding us, the guards have become like our companions.Their narrow-mindedness on the border has turned into a simple sisterly love here, and they start smiling at us so warmly that I fear Guy will be angry if he wakes up and sees it. I gradually recovered and reveled in the joy of living without worrying about space battles and signal lights as if they were from another planet. Living so relaxed in Guy's world, I felt it was a little paradise on earth, for Eowine, for me, for Tom's women.Suddenly one day, the weather changed. It used to be sunny, and I always had the windows open.About midnight, I was awakened by the howling of a cool wind.As I went to close the window, the freezing cold wind whipped at me, and I smelled bitter dust and coughed.When I awoke again the rainstorm had stopped, but a severe frost had set in. If Gai's kingdom was a world of perpetual spring shielded by a shield, now some unexpected threat is shattering that shield.I lay on the bed unwilling to get up, and could vaguely feel that the cosmic infection virus was active in my bones again.Iowine came in bewildered and told me to come down to breakfast, and I saw him very dazed and depressed, saying he wanted to chew a bit of tobacco. We only saw Lifan alone as a guard.Eve was in the hospital, looking so lost and pale because of a sudden miscarriage. She told us more misfortunes, and slowly we found we had no appetite for breakfast. This unexpected storm and frost destroyed all the crops in Fairfax, and countless small animals died mysteriously. The horse threw a teenage girl off its back and trampled to death, and the mothers say Guy tossed and moaned in his sleep all night. "We don't know what's wrong," Lifan said, licking her pale lips. "Mother Billy Levelland thought at first maybe the grit had been stolen, but the care mothers said it was still in the basement. We were afraid of it." Broken or something. Mothers say it was still shining just an hour before the storm," she shrugged dejectedly, hunched over and shivering as if she needed more clothes to keep warm.Guy is still asleep and no one knows what happened. At this time, Gai was also woken up.We were still sitting in front of our unfinished breakfast when we heard his muffled voice on the porch.His bellicose mood was gone, and when we went out to say hello to him, the look of his yellow eyes looked blurry and empty. He is waiting for Kelly.He doesn't want to talk. We waited a long time fidgeting, looking worriedly at the elevator, and finally Bill Bleveland brought her down.Kelly looked pale and haggard, looking at Guy coldly, like meeting an annoying stranger she didn't care about. "Kelly, I've been sleeping," His voice was monotonous and loud, as if he was asking some kind of inexpressible question, "I had a dream, dreaming that I became Nick." Kelly stared at him with bated breath. "I dreamed of the tachyon terminal station." Guy shook his head and paused, squinting around, as if he wasn't quite sure who he was or where he was. "I dreamed that we had to get the signal lights to work." "Really?" Kelly spat, "That's what we're going to do, Kelly." The monotony of his voice almost denied the meaning of the words, "We're going to Heaven's Gate, we're going to take the grit, we're going to light the beacon for Nick. " "Oh Guy!" Kelly leaned and grabbed the back of a chair, distrust on her face turning to breathless wonder and finally ecstasy. "Nick will love you," she whispered, "and he will forgive you if we can light the semaphore!" Gai's women were not so enthusiastic. They were so frightened by the storm that they couldn't stop crying.Guy is a little sick and a little delirious, everyone here adores him and can't live without him. Apparently, in Gai's kingdom, he was king himself.When he raised his voice, the noise died away.With a wit he had never had before, he began discussing the itinerary, initially with Kelly, but soon including Iowine and me. We decided to go in the most well-equipped hearse.Eowine began to prepare other parts, such as tires and oil barrels, and Guy told his women to prepare weapons and supplies. As for weapons, we had two shotguns, an old but accurate pistol, and a portable missile launcher that Guy had captured from the fight against Spock Barrow.We only had two or three boxes and nine missiles, which was too little for the fog, space snakes, and muggers we might encounter. Guy's new decision cannot be changed, despite the many dangers that lie ahead of us.His behavior puzzled me: his appetite was gone, he looked weak; his large hands were shaking uncontrollably; his eyes looked blank, and his voice had lost its power.I'm starting to wonder if he's immune to some unknown cosmic disease. When everything was ready, he staggered across the street to the bank, where two or three women stood guard.He pulled out the tetrahedron, which was under a gas bomb rack. When he put the magic tetrahedron into Kelly's hand, she let out a cry of surprise.Its radiation instantly browned her pale face.She reappeared the beauty that was lost by Nick's death.She stood there, staring intently at its glowing center until Guy put it back in the box. Billy Levelland came running after us, and when we picked up Guy's wide-eyed daughter, she wanted hysterically to come with us.If Guy leaves them, they will die, and Spock will kill them when he comes back. Guy paused and turned to listen, holding the baby in his trembling hands for a moment, then suddenly, he handed it to Billy Levelland.With an inarticulate howl, he swung his huge body into the hearse. The wagon was surrounded by armed women, and Eowine tried to get us away from the fence.Lifan and Eve were there too, full of rage and white lips.Eve threw a rock and nearly hit the windshield.They all backed away, probably because of Guy's yelling, but I think there was more pain in the yelling than anger.He was twitching and crying as the car drove away.Most of the women stood silently behind us, but Billy Levelland screamed and waved the toddler with the lid up over his head. Eowine drove past Greenway Park, a few miles away in Fairfax.We were trying to ford a river, and when we were halfway there, Iowine suddenly collapsed, panting heavily, and the car was stuck in the mud.Guy moved him off the steering wheel and I continued driving the car out. Eowine woke up when we reached the bank, and said anxiously that he was all right, but I saw his haggard face turn livid.In spite of his hoarse yells of protest, we wrapped him in a blanket and drove back to Fairfax through storm-battered fields. The nurses squealed with delight when Zagagi saw Guy.They quickly sent Iowine to the cardiac ward, and I shook his livid hands and promised to help him take care of Rose.For the next hour, we hit the road again amidst severe turbulence. When I came to the river again, I thought of Andy Eowine, thinking of the distance and uncertainty of the journey.Kelly and I sat together, thinking as silently as I did.Guy lay back, breathing heavily, apparently asleep. Kekelie held her breath as we pulled onto the rocky bank.I saw a person lying on the ground in front of me. They looked a little deformed, their bodies were covered with mud, and they were bleeding continuously.His thumb twitched and I recognized him as my brother Tom.Naturally, I sped up the car and swerved around him, but he blocked our way by waving his muddy hands.I honked the horn and wanted to slam him away.But Kay Kelly took my arm. "Stop! That's Guy's father." I stopped reluctantly, and Tom came limping along.He had trouble breathing, his body was covered with wounds, stinking mud, blood on his sleeves, hands, and the handle of the knife on his belt.He grabbed the side of the car, with various hideous smiles on his face covered with blood and dirt. "Kelly!" he gasped flatteringly, "Kelly, beautiful girl!" He looked provocatively at her naked body, then looked behind the car, where the cover was flipping restlessly in the blanket. and said, "My child! Is my dear child all right?" I said, "We were fine before we met you." "Don't be so boring, Gingin!" He frowned impatiently at me, and then turned to Kelly hopefully, "If all I need is a ride, I don't look like I'm too happy welcome. I've seen you guys before, and I've been waiting for you to come back. He touched the dagger on his body, leaned down and grinned slyly at Guy. "By the way, your women will never be harassed by my friend Spurback Barrow again." up. " "You killed him?" I guessed the answer from his casual expression, "Why?" "Why not?" Tom turned and listened carefully to what was going on behind him, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Let's go," he whispered eagerly, "before we get caught and killed. No matter what you do, I will help. ’ He turned to me and said, ‘How’s it going, Kim? " His smooth voice reminded me of the hurt he had done to me in the past, and I really wanted to tell him we didn't have time to help him. "Forget it, Uncle Kim," Kelly interrupted my train of thought, "maybe he can fill Mr. Iowain's place." She looked up at Tom sullenly and said, "Listen, Mr. Hood. We're going to the Heaven's Gate. The Tachyon subterminal is standing there, repaired but not working, and we'll have to take the tetrahedron over there and light the beacon. Maybe you can help us." "Tetrahedron?" Tom held his breath, several expressions suddenly appeared on his face, and finally smiled courteously, "Do you have moon sand? Just in the car? Of course I would like to go with you. This is my Unexpected opportunity. Maybe it's my last chance to pay back the debt of humanity, and maybe see a world better than the one I live in." "I think we need you, Mr. Hood." I want to object again.She didn't seem to be afraid of Tom's dirty appearance, and made room for him.All I can do is keep driving. Tom asks for a weapon, and Kelly asks Guy to pass him a shotgun.He checked it and loaded it deftly.Drove a few more miles.The trees started to thin out and Tom made me stop and slipped out front with the gun.About half an hour later, we heard three snapping sounds that shook the leaves. Kelly told me to drive forward.We found Tom waiting for us half a mile down the road. He wore a hat on his head and held a gun with a battery of bullets and a pack of cigarettes stained with blood.He lit a cigarette and got into the car with Kelly. We were delayed because we couldn't find the bridge and encountered roadblocks.We camped that night beside an outer burnt granary, not fifty miles from Fairfax.For cover, Kelly announced that she, me, and Tom would be taking turns on duty.When I awoke in the morning light, the camp was quiet and Tom had disappeared. Guy and Kelly were not too keen on things like sleeping bags, and they lay side by side on the floor of what had been a barn.I stood there looking at it for half a minute, and compared her in amazement, she was slender and cute, but he was like a huge beast. Fearing Tom's betrayal, I woke them up.I scoured the camp, and I found dynamite spilled on the ground in front of the car, and the display box thrown into a pile of rubble, its dense panels pried open. "Tom ran off," I told them, with a tinge of satisfaction in my anger that I'd thought of denying him a lift, "and ran away with the tetrahedron!" Guy was so angry that he couldn't speak and wanted to run after me, but Kelly asked us to wash up and prepare for dinner.We were eating late when Tom returned, shaking wearily, with the burlap bag containing the tetrahedron, which he emptied out of his pocket and placed at Kelly's feet. Trembling and panting, he backed away from the shiny tetrahedron, "I've had enough of this damn thing." Kelly picked it up deftly, blew the dust off of it, and looked at Tom over the tetrahedron, her skin darkening even more. "It's up to it to bring you back," she said softly to him. "We've got a long way to go and still need you, Mr. Hood." "I'll do what you tell me," Tom's crisp answer surprised me, "anything." She found a pair of work pants for Andy in the package for him.Half an hour later, we went up again.